The reason Hayden Hurst won't attend the NFL Draft
Hayden Hurst won’t be attending the NFL draft in person.
The official invitations to watch the draft from the green room in Dallas in April haven’t been announced, but Hurst will turn it down if he does get one. His first professional draft experience taught him that lesson.
Hurst was selected in the 17th round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He went into that draft thinking he might be picked in the first two rounds.
“I am going to watch (the NFL draft) at home with my family. I didn’t have the best experience my first time around so I just want to be at home with my mom and dad,” said Hurst, who was a right-handed high school pitcher in Jacksonville, Fla. “I was supposed to go in the top two rounds and I picked an agent who kind of priced me out and I ended up falling.”
Hurst left baseball after two years and walked on at South Carolina, where he became a standout tight end and first-team All-SEC selection. The 6-foot-5, 250-pounder had 100 catches for 1,281 yards in his three-year career, and he’s again expected to be a first- or second-round selection.
“Four years ago, if somebody would have told me that I would be a potential first round (NFL) pick, I would have told them that they were crazy,” Hurst said. “This is all pretty surreal that you guys think I’m cool enough to interview me.”
Hurst is expected to be the first South Carolina player selected in April’s draft. He is considered by some analysts to be the top tight end in the draft. Hurst did not run the 40-yard dash or do any agility drills during Wednesday’s Pro Day, opting to stand on the times he posted at last month’s NFL combine (4.67 40-yard dash and 31.5-inch vertical jump).
Hurst did position drills, working extensively with Philadelphia Eagles tight ends coach Justin Peelle. The Eagles have the 32nd pick in April’s draft. New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, whose team picks 31st overall, also was in attendance and had a private meeting with Hurst on Monday.
“For me, it’s another day. I run routes. I catch passes. That’s sort of what I do. The other stuff I tune it out,” Hurst said.
Wherever Hurst ends up, “I want to be the best,” he said.
“I am going to get in and learn. They are going to get a guy who can stretch the field and make plays,” he said. “I did for two years here at the highest level in college football, and I’m planning on taking that to the next level.”
This story was originally published March 21, 2018 at 10:45 AM with the headline "The reason Hayden Hurst won't attend the NFL Draft."